DAYS: Thaao Penghlis attacks the late James E. Reilly

[TheRedWarrior]

WORD

The guy made a mockery of the audience...and it showed with every single episode of passions. Just an exercise in frustration.

Lol at his high ratings. American Idol is probably the biggest hit show to hit television but it's far from what I'd call must see television.

[JONNYSBRO]

You mean Esensten/Brown's failed attempt at a clone, OMG when McTavish went freaking sci-fi or any out there stories. They tried to copy Reilly but Reilly was smarter. Reilly knew what worked and he loved Deidre. Put Deidre at the center of all stories and make the theme Marlena and people came. Also payoff was huge in Reilly land. The big Sami comeuppance was awesome twice but nothing was more exciting then the Eileen Davidson I WAS ON THE EDGE OF MY FREAKING SEAT. It was a huge career point for ED and she did amazing work. The storyline was all about Marlena, the center Marlena. Don't tell me Ron Carlivati did not channel Reilly what the horrid Mendorra/1968 storylines and they sucked. There was nothing to root for and no big huge payoff. Everyone is saying RATINGS DO NOT MATTER, give me a break. The reason we are in this mess is not because of Reilly, it is because of writing by committee and having no imagination anymore. Nobody gets that free reign Reilly got but he deserved it. Believe me when Reilly was writing the DAYS stars were getting paid 500,000 to 700,000. Everyone was making huge money and that is what a business is for. TV is in the business of ratings and that is it. That is why soaps are going to go away because we do not have a Jim Reilly giving us huge ratings spikes up the gazzoo. I loved how every other writer who copied did stories that did nothing for the ratings and only made them plummet. YOU ALL WISH YOU HAD REILLY'S MILLIONS. To say the man was rich is a serious understatement. Probably the richest person ever in daytime history. He is a millionaire 30 times over.

[Sindacco]

Some people don't know the difference.

[Dr Neil Curtis]

So what the only reason he had people glued to the serial killer story was just to see who the killer was or who was going to be next on his/her list. After all came back alive on the stupid Island and made Tony the mastermind of it all, for a stupid reason, people stop watching. Killing Poor Alice, iced the cake!! when Jack kept dying and coming back, people stop watching. Yeah the ratings were up at Days, but why could he do that with the crampy soap he created on his own, Passions???? Somethings he wrote was good: Possession, Aremid, Maison Blanche, Hope's Return, Zack's Death. The Serial Killer story had many loop holes in it, Such as: Tony becoming the mastermind out of the blue. why wasn't Lexie suspect in the whole thing, being she pronounced everyone dead. The story was to go a whole other directions, but it changed in the middle of the story with no connections at all. I agree with Thaao about his opinions (Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Press) I liked certain things about the serial killer story and James' reign his last go around: Marlena being the killer and her sharp remarks after the reveal, everyone being alive was great, Marlena and Roman's final return and she was pregnant with his baby, the Alex North stuff had its advantages, Calliope returned! Hope and Patrick sizzled. But everyone is Entitled to their own opinion about things some hate Reilly's work and some adored it and thats the way its going to be until the end of time!

[Dr Neil Curtis]

I will agree with you on some parts. I would never put the mess daytime in all on Reilly! The poor guy is not responible for that. other writers are as well. Lynn Latham, Dena Higley, and a few others were horrible on some soaps and soaps they can do well. I don't think Ron Carlivati channeled Reilly when he was writting the Mendorra/1968 storyline. Those are both old storylines from OLTL past that Reilly didnt have a hand in. Mendorra tanked big time, I read good reviews on the 1968 and viki goes to heaven storyline.

[jcar03]

So now that he is dead no one is allowed to critize him? It's not like Thaao said Thank God the man is dead or anything.

[bellcurve]

I don't get what the big deal is with criticizing someone's work. You either liked it or you don't.

Reilly first tenure was great. As much as it turned off the soap base, he brought in alot of new viewers. Some stayed, some left, but even then, that can't be denied. What was, at least, great about his first run is that the actors played it straight instead of always going for the punchline or the silly the way Passions and other shows do. That's what made it so campy and fun.

His second one was bad, but I think alot of it had to do with NBC/Corday's interference.

[Cat]

So, basically, a lot of people agree with what Thaao said but don't like that he said it out loud? The way that he said it? The timing of his comments?

[quartermainefan]

Passions never insulted anyone. Every episode JER threw the kitchen sink at the audience trying to give them bang for their buck. The insulting soaps are the ones that have no stories, and just serve their audience daily doses of characters talking about themselves. I don't think there is a hard rule that says mermaids or monkeys are insults.

[Rhiannon]

So creating a crazed hermaphrodite who's a murderer, rapist and blackmailer that eventually had sex with it's father on purpose and had said father's baby isn't insulting to the viewers?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincent_Clarkson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ML-POXC0pq0

[Dr Neil Curtis]

basically the post is to bash Thaao for "speaking ill" of the dead and keep his comments to himself! I am proud of Thaao for not changing his tone after the man died. If he didnt like his work when he was alive, then why like it when he is dead?!? I love the timing of his comments, the interviewer asked the questions and Thaao gave his opinions of the man, simple as that!

[Mitch]

LOL..and the funny thing is, it wasn't all that entertaining! (hey, I have to admit, that storyline sounded like grab a beer and settle in for some good fun trash, but it was a complete bore!) Now Thao would have been attacking JER personally if he would have discussed the man's battle between his sexuality and his faith and how that played into the stories he wrote.

Same thing with the SSK. Come on the ratings were there not because it was a good story but because vet characters were being brutally murdered...it got peoples attention not because it was good but because it was cheap attention grabbing crap. The story was not paced well, their was no drama or long lasting repurcussions in between the killings, and the clues didnt add up (not to mention Marlena was the sloppiest serial killer in the history of fact or fiction. ) The low point had to be chocking Alice to death with a donut..all the while having Marlena crack jokes. THAT wasnt an insult to the genre and the audience??? THAT was quality writing? THAT was the sign of master at his craft. Nope, that is the sign of someone desperate to create interest and "controversy," and someone who is just a tad bit mean spirited.

Anyway, we all have our likes and dislikes, and TP is just stating his..unprofessional as he may be.

[All My Shadows]

Maybe I don't have a clue what Reilly did for NBC daytime. But I am aware of the fact that NBC daytime, as of this posting, consists solely of "Days of our Lives." If that's good for NBC daytime, please explain to how it is so.

One thing I love is that all of the defense of Reilly's work comes from his 90s tenure. Let's completely ignore the clusterfuck that he turned DAYS into from 2003 to 2006, and let's ignore the fact that "Passions" was rarely not the least-watched soap in the country. Writers write, they write good stuff, they write bad stuff. Reilly was not a visionary, nor was he a hack. But you know what? At the same time, Reilly was a visionary and a hack.

[Cyberologist]

I really don't know what to say because he's entitled to his opinon and he is in the industry

so? I just think it was in poor taste. He could have said the same thing in a different way

just within the yaar of his death. I was always taught its not what you say but how you say it.

I didn't watch Days that much and I didn't even know he was on GH

maybe it was when I lived abroad or back in the day. I don't even remember him. I can

say I don't think he's all that and a bag of chips re: acting but maybe I needed to watch more

and didn't see enough.

[juniorz1]

Actually, if memory serves, Passions was the least-watched soap in the country throughout its entire run.